Golf ball retrieval device

ABSTRACT

A golf ball retrieval device securable to a flag pole shaft used to mark a golf cup hole. The retrieval device is a conical shaped disc having an inner edge securable to the shaft of the flag pole and an outer edge having a diameter less than an inner diameter of the golf cup. The disc includes a mounting slip extending between the inner edge and the outer edge to allow the disc to be placed along a base of the flag pole shaft. The disc is constructed and arranged to hold a golf ball, allowing ease of golf ball retrieval when the flag pole is removed from the golf cup. Advertising may be placed on an upper surface of the disc.

PRIORITY CLAIM

In accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.76, a claim of priority is included inan Application Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, thepresent invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional. PatentApplication No. 62/835,292, entitled “GOLF BALL RETRIEVAL DEVICE”, filedApr. 17, 2019. The contents of which the above referenced application isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the game of golf and, in particular, to adevice securable to a flag pole for ease of golf ball retrieval.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The game of golf is played professionally and recreationally around theworld. Understanding a need for common rules regarding scoring, theUnited States Golf Association (USGA) was formed in 1894. The USGA isconsidered the governing body for the game of golf, providing rules ofgolf and providing interpreters of the rules. One such rule applies tothe putting green. Prior to 2019, a player was required to have theputting green flag pole removed from the putting green cup when theplayer was putting from the surface of the putting green. Failure toremove the pin resulted in a penalty stroke assessed to the player.

In 2019, the USGA revised the Rules of Golf to include Rule 13.2a(2).There is no longer a penalty if a ball played from the putting greenhits a flagstick left in the hole; and Players are not required to puttwith the flagstick in the hole; rather, they continue to have the choiceto have it removed (which includes having someone attend the flagstickand remove it after the ball is played).

There are many reasons supporting the change, the most notable being therule generally helps speed up play. For instance, most players do notemploy caddies, and the time spent to have a player walk up to the flagpole, remove the flag pole from the putting hole, and walk back to maketheir golf putt added time to the round of golf.

While the rule change generally speeds up the game of golf, the rulecaused another problem. In particular, after the player has putted,thereby placing the golf ball in the golf cup, the golf ball needs to beretrieved. When the player uses their hand to retrieve the golf ball,their hand must be placed between the flag pole and the side of the golfcup. Capturing the golf ball between the index finger and the middlefinger will allow ease of golf ball retrieval with little or no damageto the edge of the putting hole. However, if the player's hand is largeor the player lacks dexterity, then damage to the edge of the puttinghole can occur. Further, the player is likely bending at the knee orleaning over the putting hole, wherein the player's golf shoes,universally including spikes for gripping a surface, may cause damagearound the rim of the putting hole.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,044 discloses a golf cup modified to contain anadvertisement.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,162 discloses a brightly colored, plastic collar forenhancing the visibility of the golf hole for players, spectators andtelevised golf events. The collar has a diameter essentially the same asa regulation hole, and is installed in the cup adjacent the exposedearth wall between the lip of the hole and the hole liner.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,665 discloses a golf cup advertising device havingan insert disc for mounting within the golf cup unit at the bottomthereof and twist-on connection means for attaching the disc to the cupunit. The advertisement is printed on an upper face of the disc forviewing by a golfer or other person, after the flag pole is removed fromthe hole.

What is lacking in the art is a device that accommodates the USGA rulechange in its effort to speed up golf, yet further provides a device forease of golf ball retrieval.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed is a golf ball retrieval device securable to a flag pole shaftcommonly used to mark a golf cup hole. In the preferred embodiment, theretrieval device is a conical shaped disc having an inner edge that isfrictionally securable to the shaft of the flag pole and an outer edgehaving a diameter less than an inner diameter of the golf cup. The discincludes a mounting slip extending between the inner edge and the outeredge to allow the disc to be placed along a base of the flag pole shaft.The disc is constructed and arranged to hold a golf ball, allowing easeof golf ball retrieval when the flag pole is removed from the golf cup.

An objective of the invention is to provide a device that allows ease ofgolf ball removal while accommodating USGA Rule 13.2a(2).

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a device thatenhances USGA's attempt to speed up play.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a device thateliminates the need for a player to insert their hand into a golf cuphole, and possibly damage the entry area to the golf cup.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a device thateliminates the need for a player to bend over to retrieve a golf ballfrom the putting cup, benefiting the elder players as well as those withbalance issues.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a reusable and/ordisposable device that allows for advertising during local tournaments.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with anyaccompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration andexample, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings containedherein constitute a part of this specification, include exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects andfeatures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial perspective view of a flag pole base with a golfball retrieval device of the instant invention attached thereto forinsertion into a golf cup;

FIG. 2 is a plane side view of the flag pole base, with the golf ballretrieval device of the instant invention attached thereto, positionedover a cross section view of the golf cup; and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side view of the flag pole base, with thegolf ball retrieval device of the instant invention attached thereto,inserted into a golf cup.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A detailed embodiment of the instant invention is disclosed herein;however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiment is merelyexemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.Therefore, specific functional and structural details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for theclaims and as a representation basis for teaching one skilled in the artto variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure.

Referring to the Figures, illustrated is a flag pole 50 having anelongated fiberglass shaft 52 with a metal base 54 secured to the bottomof the shaft 52. A golf cup 60 is defined by a continuous side wall 62having an outer surface 64, and an inner surface 66 with an upper edge68 and a lower edge 70. A support plate 72 is formed along the innersurface 66, having a taper surface 74 extending from a top edge 76 to abottom edge 78, with a centrally disposed aperture 80 constructed andarranged to receive the base 54 of the flag pole 50. The tapered surface72 makes it easy to insert the flag pole, as the base 54 isself-centering for directional insertion into the central aperture 80.Slots 82 may be included in the support plate 72 to allow water drainagefrom rain and sprinkler systems.

In regular golf course maintenance, the golf cup 60 is relocated on aputting green, typically on a daily basis. The relocation of the golfcup 60 is an aspect of the game of golf that makes a course challengingon any particular day. For instance, on one day the golf cup 60 may beplaced in a portion of the green that is relatively flat, making forease of putting. On another day, the golf cup 60 may be placed past asloped surface, wherein putting can be very difficult if the golf ballis of any distance from the golf cup 60. As the golf cup may be changedon a daily basis, the flag pole 50 indicates the location on the green.A player can readily see the placement from a long distance away andadjust their approach shot accordingly. Many flag poles includereflective material, allowing a distance measuring device to preciselymeasure the distance from the player to the flag pole.

The disc 10 of the present invention has an inner edge 12 securable tothe shaft 52 of the flag pole 50. An outer edge 14 is constructed andarranged to be spaced apart a distance, d1, from the inner surface 66,which amounts to a diameter of the disc 10 being less than an innerdiameter formed by the continuous side wall 62 of the golf cup 60. Amounting slip 16 extends between the inner edge 12 and the outer edge14. In the preferred embodiment, the disc 10 is constructed from aflexible plastic, wherein the mounting slip 16 allows the disc 10 to beplaced alongside an upper portion 56 of the base 54 of said flag poleshaft 52. The disc 10 is constructed and arranged to hold a golf ball90, allowing ease of golf ball retrieval when the flag pole shaft isremoved from the golf cup as depicted in FIG. 2. The disc 10 has aconical shape creating a taper 18 extending from said inner edge 12 ofthe disc to the outer edge of the disc 10. The disc taper 18 isconstructed and arranged to match a golf cup taper 84.

The disc 10 includes apertures 20 to allow water drainage, similar tothe golf cup 60 apertures 82. The upper surface 22 of the disc 10, whichforms the taper 18, may include indicia 24 in the form of advertising.For instance, a golf tournament sponsor may include their name for a dayon the disc 10. In another embodiment, the golf ball retrieval devicemay be in the form of a disc that is formed integral to the flag poleshaft, not shown.

The method of operating a golf ball retrieval device comprising thesteps of: forming a disc having a conical shape with an inner edgesecurable to a shaft of a flag pole, an outer edge having a diameterless than an inner diameter formed by said continuous inner wall of agolf cup, and a mounting slip extending between said inner edge and saidouter edge; inserting said flag pole shaft into said inner edge of saiddisc through said mounting slip; positioning said disc along a lower endof said flag pole shaft; placing said flag pole shaft and said disc intosaid golf cup; removing said flag pole shaft from said golf cup toretrieve a golf ball resting on said disc.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention isillustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangementherein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to whatis shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figuresincluded herein.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain theends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. Theembodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein arepresently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended tobe exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changestherein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which areencompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by thescope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been describedin connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should beunderstood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited tosuch specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of thedescribed modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious tothose skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of thefollowing claims.

The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and“comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and“having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and“including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains”and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a method ordevice that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or moresteps or elements, possesses those one or more steps or elements, but isnot limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Likewise, astep of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,”“includes” or “contains” one or more features, possesses those one ormore features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or morefeatures. Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in acertain way is configured in at least that way, but may also beconfigured in ways that are not listed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf ball retrieval device for securing to aflag pole shaft releasably mounted to a golf cup having a continuousinner wall and with a centrally disposed aperture for receipt of a lowerend of the flag pole shaft, said golf ball retrieval device comprising:a disc having an inner edge securable to the shaft of the flag pole, anouter edge having a diameter less than an inner diameter formed by saidcontinuous inner wall of the golf cup, and a mounting slip extendingbetween said inner edge and said outer edge; wherein said mounting slipallows said disc to be placed along a base of said flag pole shaft, saiddisc constructed and arranged to hold a golf ball, allowing ease of golfball retrieval when said flag pole shaft is removed from said golf cup.2. The golf ball retrieval device according to claim 1, wherein saiddisc is conical shaped having a taper extending from said inner edge ofsaid disc to an outer edge of said disc.
 3. The golf ball retrievaldevice according to claim wherein said disc taper is constructed andarranged to match a golf cup taper.
 4. The golf ball retrieval deviceaccording to claim wherein said inner edge of said disc frictionallyengages said flag pole shaft.
 5. The golf ball retrieval deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein disc is constructed from plastic.
 6. Thegolf ball retrieval device according to claim 1 wherein disc includesapertures to allow water drainage.
 7. The golf ball retrieval deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein disc is further defined by an uppersurface, said upper surface having indicia in the form of advertising.8. The golf ball retrieval device according to claim 1 wherein disc isformed integral to said flag pole shaft.
 9. A method of operating a golfball retrieval device comprising the steps of: forming a disc having aconical shape with an inner edge securable to a shaft of a flag pole, anouter edge having a diameter less than an inner diameter formed by saidcontinuous inner wall of a golf cup, and a mounting slip extendingbetween said inner edge and said outer edge; inserting said flag poleshaft into said inner edge of said disc through said mounting slip;positioning said disc along a lower end of said flag pole shaft; placingsaid flag pole shaft and said disc into said golf cup; removing saidflag pole shaft from said golf cup to retrieve a golf ball resting onsaid disc.